In Praise of Vice

Sex and Isolation and Other Essays
by Bruce Benderson
University of Wisconsin Press. 208 pages, $24.95

BRUCE BENDERSON’S iconoclastic new novel minces no words when it comes to the present state of contemporary culture: he believes a lot of things have changed for the worse. It is Benderson’s contention that a major shift in the culture occurred when virtual reality, or the “on screen” information age, replaced the tactile world of public space. He blames the Internet with its “continuous electronic swaddlings,” which have taken the place of “countless hunts in the streets of midtown New York for sex.”

Sign Up for The Gay & Lesbian Review’s Newsletter!

The Gay & Lesbian Review / Worldwide (The G&LR) is a bimonthly magazine targeting an educated readership of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) men and women. Under the tagline, “a bimonthly journal of history, culture, and politics,” The G&LR publishes essays in a wide range of disciplines as well as reviews of books, movies, and plays.